When we plant seeds or invest in a crop or sheep, we have an expectation that the harvest won’t be for some time, maybe even several years.
Most capital and commodity markets, however, have an expectation of some sort of return straight away. Markets, by and large, are impatient.
Farmers produce their product, unsure of the exact cost per unit (mostly because they don’t know their exact output), and sell into a market focusing most of its attention on transparency, discovering the facts, and locking in margins while reducing risk. There’s a mismatch here.
Farmers measure performance in a different timeframe to most of the media or commentators trying to help farmers.
I encourage farmers not to get too caught up in the noise of short-term market commentary. Media and commentators, most who don’t have any skin in the game, are good at telling farmer what to do, and instilling fear.
But patient capital outlasts in the long run.